


Something You Don't Need to Hear

by lostin_space



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, M/M, Prompt Fill, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-19 10:33:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20655776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostin_space/pseuds/lostin_space
Summary: Michael thinks he might be the reason he and Alex aren't like normal soulmates.





	Something You Don't Need to Hear

**Author's Note:**

> from a soulmates prompt list: "There’s a red string attaching you by your finger to your soulmate." and "You and your soulmate have matching tattoos."

“Can I ask you a question?”

“You’re going to anyway, why even preface it?”

“I don’t want to be insensitive.”

“Just spit it out, Liz.”

Michael sighed as he looked up from his notebook to see her eyeing him with that ever so pitiful look. He just grew a little more annoyed. They were supposed to be working on a way to fix Isobel, not asking pity driven questions.

“How does your tether work with your soulmate?” Liz asked bluntly, gesturing to his mangled hand that had completely distorted the bright red tattoo around his ring finger. Everyone was born with a clear string-like tattoo that tethered you to your soulmate. Once you fell in love with them, it turned bright red. When Michael’s turned, no one asked him about it outside of random hookups throughout the years.

Leave it to Liz to break that cycle.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, does it work the same as everyone else’s even though it's damaged?” she clarified. He sighed slightly and thought about the last decade.

He’d had a total of 5 minutes from the time it turned red to the time it was damaged, so he didn’t really know if it was different than it was originally. His and Alex’s both were loosely looped around their ring fingers and stretched across the length of it, bawdy and hard to hide. He knew that it dragged them closer together which was a common symptom, creating a gravitational pull for each other that made it difficult to stay in the same room and not get close. It linked them emotionally, feeling some type of residual effect of whatever the other person was feeling. The only thing that was out of the ordinary is that their tether wasn’t telepathic like most soulmates. Michael had been excited for that when he was younger, but it never came. Instead came a lifetime of communication issues because they couldn’t just read each other’s mind.

“We aren’t telepathically linked, but I don’t know if that’s because of the hand or not,” he explained simply. There were a ton of different ways soulmates tethers came to fruition, he and Alex just so happened to not get the most common one that could’ve saved them.

“Do you mind if I ask who it is?” Liz asked softly. Michael scoffed and looked up to her with narrowed eyes. She knew who it was. Alex may have worn things to cover it as often as possible, but she had known him since they were kids. She’d seen his. She knew they matched. “I really don’t know, yours is too distorted to compare it with anyone elses.”

“It doesn’t matter then,” he snapped, all while ignoring the fact his hand was turning red with heat. He was clearly agitated. Liz dropped the subject.

However, Michael wasn’t able to. He kept trying to figure out if it was his fault that they couldn’t communicate properly. It wasn’t fair. Then, on top of that, he wanted to know what other kinds of tethers they had that may have been special. Maybe they were missing something.

After hours of driving himself insane, he felt that familiar heat on his back. He’d never known what it was, always assuming it was his body’s way of telling him to calm the fuck down, but tonight it just made him want to have more answers. He eventually got in his car and drove to Alex’s cabin despite knowing he wasn’t welcome.

“Are you okay?” Alex asked while opening the door before Michael could even make it to the porch, “You’re making me irritated and I can’t really have that when I’m researching on how to help your species.” Michael didn’t try to hide the flinch that overcame him at the word. How did he get to a point where even the person who was his safe place felt the need to make him an outsider? Heat pressed to his stomach. “I’m sorry, that was harsh.”

“Did our tether get fucked up when my hand did?” Michael demanded, stepping closer as if he had a choice to do otherwise. Alex looked taken aback. “Answer me. You used to be obsessed with learning about all the different types of tethers. Why aren’t we telepathic?”

“Because we just aren’t. We just didn’t get it. Which is why you thought I hated you and you got back at me by making out with my friend,” Alex said slowly. Michael shook his head. He didn’t want to talk about that. They had talked that to death. He tried to make things right, but Alex didn’t want to, so that was that. He wasn’t going to try forever and just get his mistakes thrown in his face. “No, what I’m saying is no. Your hand being hurt didn’t take away what we didn’t have in the first place.”

“Did it weaken our tether?”

“I don’t think so. People who lose their arms and hands and fingers all together still have perfectly fine tethers. It’s not a physical thing, the red string is just a physical manifestation of it,” Alex said, his voice controlled as Michael stepped closer.

“Then why does our tether suck? Why are we so fucked up? Why do we only have two tether symptoms? Why are you my soulmate and why is our string is so fucking huge if it’s just a reminder that I will never be able to have you? That’s not fucking fair!” Michael knew he was getting unnecessary worked up, but it wasn’t fair. How come they had such a huge physical proclamation when their actual, mental tether was nothing more than basic bullshit?

Alex’s eyebrows were pulled together in concern and it was like instantly Michael started filling up with that ‘calm down’ heat. He wanted to scream in frustration, but he didn’t.

“We have three major ones, Michael, not two. And we have a ton of different tiny ones. We’re rare. We’re fucked up, but we’re rare,” Alex said, reaching up to press a hand to Michael’s cheek which brought that heat to a boil like it always did. He was a mug and Alex was the coffee.

“No. Two. I know. I’ve looked for more. I want more,” he whispered. Alex shook his head, pulling him in closer.

“What do you think we have?” Alex asked and Michael told him which got him laughed at. “Michael, how do you miss it?”

“Miss what?”

“You use it all the time.”

“Use what?”

Alex combed his fingers through Michael’s hair which was really annoying when he knew he was going to be thrown out after this was done. He wasn’t welcome. Alex couldn’t see past the mistakes.

“You’re right, we feel echoes of emotion, but we can also respond to it,” Alex whispered, continuing before Michael could ask him what he meant, “When we feel the other person is in distress, we’re able to send them almost psychological comfort. It’s like the heat of touch, just… without the touch. Only around .7% of soulmates have that ability.”

Michael really felt compelled to argue that that was bullshit, that he had no idea what he was talking about. But if he said that, he’d be lying, so instead he just melted into Alex’s touch before it was taken away.

“You wanna come inside?” Alex asked after a while which had Michael more confused than ever, “We should probably talk about it if you really didn’t know.”

“You wanna talk to me?” Michael asked weakly. Alex snorted a laugh.

“I always want to talk to you.”

And honestly, how could he say no?

**Author's Note:**

> Also on my tumblr: spaceskam


End file.
